With the kids at home, we’re all looking for fun and educational activities we can use to break up the home-schooling schedule. It’s an extra bonus if those activities also give us grown-ups some time to do the everyday jobs we need to get done, like cooking, cleaning and all the rest of that to-do list. So, rather than separate the two, we think, why not combine them? Let’s use our Thermomix® to get creative in the kitchen and our encourage our kids to be as hands-on with us (age dependent of course).
Regardless of the age of our kids, most families around Australia and New Zealand currently have daily home-schooling activities to get through. If your kids are in primary school, a lot of the below recipe ideas might actually help you tick off boxes such as ‘maths’, ‘reading’, ‘writing’, ‘sensory play’ and ‘fine motor’, so think of these as incidental learning opportunities too – as well as ways to fill your pantry, fridge and freezer with deliciousness.
Get on your aprons, set up stools so they can see and encourage your kids to:
• type in the recipe name to search Cookidoo®
• read the recipe prompts
• find the ingredients in the pantry/fridge/garden
• pour in the ingredients
• read the scales
• press “next”.
Even things like teaching your kids about fractions when slicing the family pizza (in halves, quarters, eighths etc.) or arranging pasta shapes into groups of 5, 10 etc. is educational and all adds up for incidental learning.
If your kids are older, these simple occurrences of everyday maths and literacy may not be part of their curriculum, but cooking together is still a fun activity which helps support creative, skilled and competent people in the kitchen, which can only ever be a good thing. You’re not going to be cooking for them forever! How about these recipe ideas to stock up on easy-to-grab lunches delicious served cold or with a simple reheat?
Pick a country/continent around the world – maybe the kids can pick from cards you prepare or from choosing a point on the map – and then learn about that country:
• The language
• Traditional dress or traditional dances, songs etc.
• Where it is in the world, which countries it’s near, finding it on the map etc.
• What it’s famous for
• And of course… the food!
Get together in the kitchen, maybe play some traditional music from that country, and make a delicious and authentic meal from that country for all the family. Cookidoo® has recipes from pretty much everywhere in the world, so there’s no end to the exploring you can do.
However, you decide to use it, your Thermomix® is there to be your extra pair of hands in the kitchen – perhaps now more than ever: From being your ‘teacher’s assistant’ in Geography, Culture and Home Ec lessons, to being an opportunity for incidental learning, adding to sensory play for the kids with hands-on recipes like doughs and pastries, to simply getting on with the cooking while you’re busy with other things.
We’d love to see your pics and videos of you and the family in the kitchen and your delicious creations. Be sure to tag us on Facebook and Instagram so we can see what you’re doing.
